Three dead in US military helicopter crash
A helicopter patrolling the United States border with Mexico crashed Friday, killing two National Guard soldiers and a US Border Patrol agent.
The US military disclosed this in a statement adding that the names of the victims will not be publicised until their next of kin have been notified..
According to the statement, the US Joint North Task Force said the UH-72 Lakota helicopter assigned to the federal southwest border support mission crashed at 2:50 p.m.
The accident occurred while conducting aviation operations near Rio Grande City, Texas, Voice of America said.
The Joint North Task Force statement said another soldier was injured, and it said the cause of the crash is under investigation.
Citing a county official, it reported those on board included one woman and three men. The report said the person who was injured was in critical condition.
The Joint North Task Force is based at Fort Bliss, Texas, and is an operation under the Defense Department that supports Customs and Border Protection with National Guard units.
The incident happened exactly a month after the Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank, Dr Herbert Wigwe alongside wife, Chizoba, and son, Chizzy died in a chopper crash in Mojave Desert Preserve in California.
Also, the former group chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, Bamofin Abimbola Ogunbanjo, and two others died in the crash.